Monday, January 9, 2017

"...But, Doctor, It Hurts When I Vote That Way....Well, Don't........."


SPOILER ALERT.......
      Actually, not so much. But that's the "go to" way, these days, to draw one's attention in this era of online overload.......so.....
      As announced last night (Jan 8), the weekly broadcast of "SEP Nighttime" is no more. Well, to be completely accurate, let's say that it's "on hiatus". (Suddenly, I'm reminded of Martin Mull's wonderful 70's album, "Let's Don't Say Au Revoir, Let's Just Say Hor' D'Oeuvres").
     The dry docking of the show was a mutual, and cordial, decision between me and the station management. And, as I said on the show last night, had NOTHING to do with content of the programs aired. I was given free rein, without condition, and I credit Delmarva Broadcasting for having the savvy to do that, not to mention their impeccable taste in independent talk shows (big wink wink).{More on the whole farewell, catch ya later thing at the very end of this site posting}
     So, yada, yada, blah, blah, here's the dealio....the actual show is done for now. I will continue, however, to write, blog, ponder and post, right here on this blogsite, as well as my other nefarious locations. From time to time, podcasts will show up here and there, as well.
    Bottom line...I ain't quittin', I'm just refittin'. And I'm not going away anytime soon, (Think Trump without the inevitable, accompanying feeling of wanting to move to Switzerland).
    Thanks for the support and encouragement. And don't be a stranger, either here or at my other nefarious locations.
    I look forward to sharing with you in the weeks and months to come. (This offer void where prohibited by law and, of course, should Trump follow his apparent destiny and piss North Korea off to the point where they nuke us all, the whole matter becomes moot, but, other than that,,,,,)
   All of that said, here's this week's.......


ramblings and rhetoric from this past week's live show

on going where no sane man has gone before

among my various other mischiefs, I publish a Facebook page entitled News From The Nebula…for the non -Star Trek geeks amongst us, a “nebula” is defined as a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible either as an indistinct bright patch in a dark sky or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.

This particular Facebook page, though, has nothing to do with Kirk, Spock or any of the space traveling swashbucklers of the starship USS Enterprise.  After the initial surprise of the outcome of the election in November  gave way to the surreal hourly news about this tweet or THAT tweet or THIS cabinet appointment or THAT casual dismissal by a guy selected to protect the nation from enemies foreign and domestic of even the remotest possibility that Russians were diddling with us, I offhandedly remarked to my wife that when it came to where WE the People have been launched with the push of this button and that lever on the console of the starship USA Voting Booth, we were “down the rabbit hole.”

Turns out, for all of my hip and groovy savvy, I’m an old fashioned kind of guy, what with the reference to Alice and the bunny (and the Mad Hatter, oh my).

My wife, the admittedly more new tech challenged of the two of us, summed it up to perfection in a Federation minute.

Nope, she said, we are in the nebula.

If you ARE a Star Trek geek, you know that, in the nebula, all the bets are off when it comes to making sense of things around you. Sensors don’t work, communication devices don’t work AND the ability to either gather or relay valid and/or correct information? There’s really no way to “make it so”….to mix the Trek franchise, if not the metaphor.


The data confirming our fantastic voyage into this US of A Edition of a cosmic cluster fuck could fill entire weeks of shows, let alone segments of one show and we’ve all pretty much already used up the inner juice we need to be sufficiently “energized” to talk about all of it.
So, for now, let’s just hit on a few quick laser shots of the latest:

  • There was ABSOLUTELY going to be a wall….and Mexico was ABSOLUTELY GOING TO PAY for it…..then there was little or no talk of a wall….now there is ABSOLUTELY going to be a wall, but WE are going to pay for it and Mexico is ABSOLUTELY GOING TO PAY US BACK FOR IT

  • The incoming Secretary Of Defense, the guy encouragingly and inspiringly known as MAD DOG has already threatened to quit because he’s not being consulted about decisions being made that affect the department that he has been hired to run

  • Obamacare was ABSOLUTELY GOING TO BE COMPLETELY REPEALED and then it was going to be re-examined and now it is ABSOLUTELY GOING TO BE COMPLETELY re-examined with the possibility that it is ABSOLUTELY GOING TO BE COMPLETELY REPEALED or Re-examined.

  • White supremacist groups across the country have announced publicly that they are ANGRY and feel like they might have actually been CONNED because THEY believed they were electing a President who hated non-whites as much as THEY DO and now it turns out, he might NOT hate them as much as THEY do and if he DOESN’T live up to what they understood to be his promise to DEAL WITH THOSE NON WHITES< there is going to be a big time WHITE SURPREMACIST REVOLT!

oh…representatives of the planet Breitbart have spread the word throughout the galaxy that Barack Obama GAVE HIMSELF The Distinguished Public Service Medal this past week.

OR…maybe he didn’t….because Presidents have nothing to do with the nominating or selection process of those medals…or maybe they DO….and maybe there WILL be a wall and Mexico WILL pay us back for it…or maybe they WONT…or there WONT be a wall…but Mexico will pay for it anyway…..and maybe Mad Dog will get even madder about being ignored….or maybe he WONT….and Obamacare….and white supremacists……and…..and….and……

of course, all of this may be happening….or it might not….either way, we have so many important things to talk about and discuss and deal with….educating our children, getting our veterans the care they deserve, getting our homeless off the streets, providing healthcare to all who need now and will need in the future, curbing the violence, shutting down the hatred, banding together to make this country great…..but….first…..

we need to follow  where we are being led……and getting to the center of the real truth…..were Arnold’s ratings on the NEW version of the show ACTUALLY that much worse than the previous host’s….…….

maybe they were…..or maybe they weren’t

surely there will be some word soon……surely, another tweet…..

the truth may be out there somewhere……but it’s not for us to know for a while……you see…..we’re in the nebula…..



on much (essentially silly ) ado about Mariah...

if you’re at all familiar with my work, either on this show or my podcasts or my guest host gigs on others shows here on 1059, then you’ve likely heard one of the catchphrases I created a couple of years ago to sum up something I think broken in this nation that needs to be fixed……freedom without……freedom without responsibility, freedom without accountability, freedom without Ability, it short, freedom just because people are born here, live here and expect to be given freedoms just BECAUSE….last night, as a year that many people were happy to see go bye bye came to an end, another “without” in my ever growing list of “withouts” managed to make it’s way into the headlines before the year ended….in fact, with just ten or eleven minutes to spare……

at around ten of midnight, eastern, Mariah Carey was performing live in Times Square during the broadcast of the traditional Dick Clark Rockin New Year’s Eve show. If you saw it, you already know what I’m gonna share with you. If you didn’t see it and you haven’t heard about it and/or taken a look at it on video today, then let me just put it simply.

Things did not go well.

Clearly, and obviously, there was some kind of malfunction or miscommunication regarding the pre recorded music and Carey’s live contribution to what was, also obviously, going to be a lip sync of her singing to that pre recorded music. After a few pretty obviously frustrating moments of trying to get it together  and back on track, pun intended, Carey turned and walked off the stage.

Now, again, if you listen to me with any regularity, you’re probably ready and waiting for me to open up a can of “hey, grow up, little diva” on Ms. Carey.

Well, here’s a surprise for your “at this moment just a little over nineteen hour old “brand new year.

You’d be wrong.

Oh, it was an unsuccessful appearance to be sure. And obviously Carey was not a happy camper.
But here’s the thing.

If you hadn’t seen the show and you only read about it this morning in the news, on line, on social media, you would have thought you missed a chance to see the temper tantrum screaming fit meltdown of all time resulting from the most mangled disaster of a performance ever witnessed on a theatrical stage.


Here’s just a quick random sampler of the headlines and/or post lines I came across this morning when I arose to greet this brand spanking fresh new year.

Mariah Carey botches New Year’s Eve show
Mariah Carey meltdown New Year’s performance
Mariah Carey NYE performance mess
Mariah Carey messes up during New Years Rockin Eve
Mariah Carey storms off stage during New Years Eve Show
Watch Mariah Carey’s trainwreck New Year’s Eve performance

Wow.

I was really sorry I went to sleep early and missed seeing history of that horrific kind being made live as it was happening.

So, I immediately did the next best thing. I WENT TO THE VIDEO……

Here’s what I saw and heard.

There was an obvious problem with the playing of the background track. Carey was unable to sing to it and/or unable to sufficiently wing it to keep singing. She walked back and forth across the stage, clearly not delighted, but reasonably poised, given the fact that things were turning to crap with millions of people all over the world watching. The dancers kept dancing, she kept trying to make it work and when it was clear it wasn’t going to happen, she said, in a fairly even tone of voice, “it just don’t get no better”, turned and calmly walked away.

Here’s something else you need to know at this point. I’m not a Mariah Carey fan, never have been. I realize she has a considerable vocal talent but, eve since day one of her career, I’ve always perceived her to be a self absorbed diva, whose talent was obvious but whose self adoration was even more obvious, one of those people who become famous in our culture and then give off the vibe that they are doing US a favor by gracing us with their presence and their ability…all for the not so low low price of are you effing kidding me? when it comes to concert tickets and downloads and t shirts.

So, I’m no drooling MIMI fan rushing to her defense after mean spiriteds who don’t equally love and adore her have dissed our princess.

What I AM is a guy who has done a fair amount of live performing, on, obviously, live radio as well as the musical stage and the acting stage. And I have had more than just a little experience with those moments where something goes haywire or something doesn’t work or something breaks down and there I was, in front of thousands of people, nothing to protect me from the awkwardness and discomfort, even embarrassment of trying to recover or re coup or just move on. Nowhere to run, now baby, nowhere to hide.

What I saw Mariah Carey do last night was a pretty capable job of rolling with the punches, keeping her relative cool and finally realizing it wasn’t going to happen and ending the attempt at performance.

What I read about it this morning was a lot of mouthing off about it by a bunch of sorry, sad, pathetic cheap shot champions who have joined the ever growing legions of loser lemmings in this country in feeling free to diss, slam, shame, shadow, snark and/or bitch about whoever they want, however they want, whenever they want, as much as they want….because they’re free, man…..freedom…..freedom without….class or compassion or courtesy or consideration….or a clue…about how it feels to stand in front of thousands or millions of people and have to deal with things turning to shit…..

what happened last night was a shame.

what happened from the moment it happened was and is shameful.
and as a broadcaster and as a performer, I’m ashamed and embarrassed….oh, not for Mariah, she dealt and departed….no, I’m embarrassed that the rest of the world continues to see, with each passing day, how this nation is becoming  more selfish and mean and petty and nasty by the minute….

Make America Great Again? certainly didn’t seem that way during pretty much all of the year we just left behind.

And looks like not a lot of greatness came splashing out as the ball dropped in Times Square last night.

if you’ve never stood on a stage in front of thousands of people and had nothing but your wits about you to save you from humiliation……shut up.

Oh…and Happy New Year…..let’s make it a GREAT one, whaddya say?






on how Trump could win EVERYBODY over to his side (aka "ice cube's chance")...

     Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview soon after the election last month that he will be, quote, "very restrained" on Twitter once he's sworn in, adding, "If I use it at all." Trump also credited his tweeting for his primary and general election wins.

    Now, incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who said that Trump's engagement with supporters that way will be, quote, "a really exciting part of the job…I think that his use of social media in particular . . . is gonna be something that's never been seen before. He has this direct pipeline in the American people, where he can talk back and forth."

    He continued, "I mean, he does communicate in a much bigger way than there's ever been before, and I think that's gonna be just a really exciting part of the job."

    TRANSLATION: like everything else, Trump will do what he wants, when he wants.

    And the key phrase there? “Trump’s engagement with supporters….”

    Guess what. You weren’t elected “President of Your Supporters”. You are the President-Elect of the United States. All of them. And every one who lives in each and all of them.

    For what it’s worth, there, Donald, if you are REALLY interested in making good on your election night promise to UNIFY the nation, here’s one place you can get that ball rolling……either knock it off with the tweeting OR…just be honest about it, whatya say, there, Don?

    You’re not tweeting to the NATION….you’re tweeting to your AUDIENCE, your FAITHFUL, your DEMOGRAPHIC….the 61 million who voted for you…. and NOT the 74 million who DID NOT…

    IF YOU REALLY WANT THOSE WHO OPPOSE, EVEN REJECT YOU TO GIVE YOU THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, THEN STOP INSULTING OUR INTELLIGENCE or even worse, SENDING YOUR LACKEYS OUT TO INSULT OUR INTELLIGENCE…..


    If you reach out a sincere hand, a lot of people will take it…a lot of people who don’t like you, who don’t trust you, even a lot of people who, frankly, are disgusted by everything you say, do or represent….but just like Lucy and Charlie Brown and that football….if you just keep slapping us around with those tweets, CLEARLY NOT meant to inspire ANYBODY but OBVIOUSLY meant to continue to INCITE those who are already in your fan club, you’re NOT GOING TO GET ANYWHERE with ANY of the 74 million who DID NOT vote for you…..

    Your most passionate supporters continue to complain that those of us who DON’T LIKE YOU just DON’T GET IT….fact is, we DO get it….and, believe it or not, there are a LOT of us who WANT you to succeed, who WANT you to unify the nation, who WANT you to make the nation safer for our children and their children…..but talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words….and self-adoring or mean spirited tweets that read like they were posted by a bullying middle schooler speak so, so , SO much louder than any words OR actions……

    We DO get it, Donald…..we DO GET the difference between a hand reaching out to uplift a nation….and a hand making a fist that says MY way or the HIGHWAY…..
you want to go down in history as a GREAT president?

    ….show 74 million of us that you know how to tear DOWN walls….and not just crave adoration from your fans by tweeting about building them.



parting thoughts and one "last" shot...

if you listen to me with any regularity, you know that I have a fondness for language and vocabulary….and while I’m ADD enough to disdain the cliché’ or overused in our sharings with one another, I recognize that some cliché’s, no matter how overused, are true…here’s one that applies tonight…..

I’ve got good news….and bad news…..

the fun thing about it, though, is that in one of those really cool cosmic coincidences that don’t come along every day, the good, and the bad, news are one and the same.

tonight’s program was the last SEP Nighttime you’ll be hearing on 105.9. for a while. And by “awhile”, I mean I honestly don’t know when, or even if, I’ll be back here doing the show. Rumors and/or perceptions to the contrary and unlike some of our more notorious recently elected  officials, I don’t flatter myself for a second thinking that this news ranks even close to anywhere on the “who cares” list we all keep updated on an hourly basis in our lives. And for that reason, I’m not going to waste your time or insult your intelligence by going into some long schpiel about why the show won’t be back. As a courtesy to those who have kindly and graciously been supportive of what I do here, let me stick a pin in any gasbag malarkey the resident trolls might offer up and tell you that the decision to end the show was a mutual one between myself and management of the station and has to do with budgetary considerations on their end and time needed to finish a book I’ve committed to write on MY end and has NOTHING to do with content of the show itself. Management here has given me NOTHING but a free hand and a green light to say whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted on every minute of every show. And for that I am more than appreciative, because, trust me when I tell you THAT doesn’t happen much in NATIONAL media anymore, let alone, local media…so, Delaware 105.9 and Delmarva Broadcasting, thank you.

the good news, bad news business works like this……

the bad news, if you enjoy the show and have been one of those folks who have listened, especially those who have called or texted to join in and made much appreciated positive contributions to our discussions, then you’ll, hopefully, miss the show if only a little….thanx for that….

and the good news? well if you’re one of those folks who have been less than enamored of how I think and what I think and how I say what I think, then you’re not gonna miss me at all….are ya?.....but that’s okay, I’m not gonna miss you either….no offense, I’m just tellin it like it is….that’s what you respect, right?.....Oh and don’t get too giddy about this good news…I’ll still be filling in from time to time for Dan or Susan or Rick or Matt in the daytime….so,  sooner than you probably prefer, I’ll be baaaack.

but here’s the real reason, I’m sharing all of this with you….because this is my last chance to take ONE MORE SHOT for the foreseeable and I want to offer it up like this.

this country doesn’t need to be made great AGAIN…it’s already a great country and has been a great country since its very first days….
.
but this nation, like WE the PEOPLE who inhabit this nation, are human…..what? some are saying? what did he say? the nation is human….well, once again, what the hell is talking about. I’m talking about this.

as people, we have good times, we have bad times, we move forward, we move backward, we lift each other up, we bring each other down, we are there for each other when things get brutal and we turn our backs on each other when fear makes us act cowardly…..we are good and bad and caring and indifferent and kind and hateful….we are….only human….

and as a nation. we have good times, bad times, we move forward, backward, we lift each other up, bring each other down, we are there for each other when things get brutal and turn our backs on each other when fear makes us act cowardly…..we are good and bad and caring and indifferent and kind and hateful….we are. as a nation….only human…

No ONE man, or woman, can make happen what needs to happen to keep this country safe and strong and moving forward. That’s not possible. It’s a fantasy. It’s an illusion.

And there IS no perfect man or woman available to choose. Every man and every woman has flaws and demons and imperfections .

But that man or woman who we choose to lead this nation and represent this nation to the rest of the planet needs to be someone who, at the rock bottom very least, has the ability, not to mention the willingness, to hand it over to their better angels to overcome those demons, to back shelf them, keep them locked up so that they don’t get their hands on that big wheel that guides the ship of state……
My obvious and oft stated stand on Trump comes from the core of that philosophy.

And the belief that 61 million people in the right counties in the right states to bring the Electoral votes home have decided to buy the idea that ONE man can make happen what needs to happen

And evidence be damned, evidence , irrefutable, that he has no interest in being bothered with better angels and that the little demons, the pettiness, the childishness, the immaturity, the egotism, the misogyny, the sociopathy are free to run and play and Sharpie up the hallways at 1600 Pennsylvania for as long as this presidency resides there.

Finally, though, here’s the punchline.

Yes, he has been elected. And yes he will take the oath in 12 days.

And, yes, Trump true and faithfuls, there’s not a damn thing anybody can do about it.

But to those of you who feel that hollowness in the pit of your stomach that tells you that what’s going to happen in 12 days just, somehow, ain’t right, no matter HOW you voted in November, let me share with you what I’m telling myself these days.

What happens, starting January 20th, HAS to happen….if only to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it can never, ever, ever happen again in this country. Some lessons have to learned by experience.

If you have enjoyed the show these past months, you get it.

And if you are annoyed that I’m not revering your hero, cheer up….there’s good news…….





thanks for the conversation
stay tuned for guest host appearances at




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